The most complete free guide we can write. Every known scheme, documented from real cases: how it works, the red flags, and how to protect yourself.
Below-market quote wins the deposit; the price “must go up” after pickup.
Extra cash demanded at delivery before the car comes off the truck.
Deposit taken, no carrier ever assigned, company vanishes.
“Instant quotes” that sell your number to dozens of callers.
A real carrier's numbers copied onto a scammer's paperwork.
Your load secretly re-sold to an unvetted, unknown carrier.
Purchased five-star walls hiding real regulator complaints.
Fake audit emails harvesting carrier credentials and DOT PINs.
“Guaranteed Tuesday pickup” sold before any truck exists.
Whole deposit kept under fine print, even when nothing was done.
Fine-print charges and damage claims denied by design.
Stolen vehicles moved under washed titles; fake escrow sites.
The full honest process in six steps — quotes in writing, FMCSA verification, the contract, preparation, inspection, delivery.
Hire a carrier directly: where to find one, matching equipment, the FMCSA checklist, red flags — and when a broker is safer.